Establishment of a catchment monitoring network through a participatory approach in a rural community in South Africa

Abstract

The establishment of a catchment monitoring network is a process, from the inception of the idea to its implementation, the latter being the construction of relevant gauging structures and installation of the various instruments. It is useful that the local communities and other stakeholders are involved and participate in such a process, as was highlighted during the establishment of the hydrological monitoring network in the Potshini catchment in Bergville District in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The paper highlights the participatory establishment of a hydrological monitoring network in a small rural inhabited catchment, in line with the overall objective of the Smallholder System Innovations (SSI) research programme, to monitor hydrological processes at both field and catchment scale for water resources management research purposes. The engagement and participation of the Potshini community precipitated a learning opportunity for both the researchers and the local community on (i) the understanding of hydrological processes inherent in the catchment (ii) appreciating the inherent dynamics in establishing a catchment monitoring network in the midst of a community (iii) paradigm shift on how to engage different stakeholders at different levels of participation. The participatory engagement in the monitoring process led to appreciation and uptake of some of the research results by the Potshini community and ensured continued support from all stakeholders. This paper is of the view that the participation of the local community and other stakeholders in catchment monitoring and instilling a sense of ownership and management of natural resources to the local communities needs to be encouraged at all times. Success stories in water resources management by local communities can be realized if such a process is integrated with other development plans in the catchment at all forums, with due recognition of the social dynamics of the communities living in the catchment

Design and implementation of a citizen technician–based suspended sediment monitoring network: Lessons from the Tsitsa River catchment, South Africa

“…Unfortunately, the probe was destroyed during a lightning storm, and lack of continuity following the departure The sustainability of collaborative citizen science projects rests heavily on early and continued buy-in and ownership by the communities in which the projects are seated (Kongo et al, 2010). The sustainability of this citizen technicianbased SSC sampling campaign rests on three main pillars: the commitment by the funder to continue to support the project; the commitment of the citizen technicians to continue to contribute their time and effort in return; and continued researcher interest in collating and using this valuable (and globally unique) dataset.…”

“…Whilst the foundational importance of their monitoring work to the scientific endeavour was explained and emphasised to the citizen technicians, the size of the Tsitsa River catchment means that the SS monitoring sites are typically distant from each other and from the land rehabilitation sites; connecting the impact of community-based land rehabilitation interventions to monitored changes in SS levels is unlikely to be demonstrable within the project period. Therefore, we opted for the term 'citizen technician' rather than 'citizen scientist' to emphasise the distinction between our approach of employing local residents to undertake technical work towards a scientific goal, and that of collaborative citizen science projects which aim to build the capacity of communities to identify, solve, and continue to sustainably manage problems through community learning (Silvertown, 2009;Kongo et al, 2010). This paper describes the design, implementation, benefits and challenges of the citizen technician-based SS sampling campaign that was undertaken in the Tsitsa River catchment, beginning in February 2015.…”

“…To this end, precise and uncomplicated data collection protocols are essential (Bonney et al, 2009), and clear criteria and best practice must be used to define, measure, implement, and maintain the quality of the data collected (Sheppard and Terveen, 2011). An obligation for supportive supervision and tight data quality control is placed on the researcher, which requires substantial time and commitment throughout the project (Kongo et al, 2010).…”

A participatory approach for hydrometeorological monitoring in the Blue Nile River Basin of Ethiopia

“…In recent years, there have been some successful examples of data collection at watershed scale, with the involvement of various stakeholders (e.g., Gomani et al 2010;Kongo et al 2010;Laurent et al 2010;Munyaneza et al 2010;EFLUM 2011;STRI 2011). In places where the hydrological monitoring activities were undertaken, local communities were consulted and involved in both the establishment and maintenance of the networks.…”

“…V e r y o f t e n , i n v o l v e m e n t o f t h e l o c a l community and other stakeholders is neglected in the establishment of hydrological monitoring networks. Most research institutions engaged in biophysical research tend to pay little attention to the engagement of local communities and other stakeholders in research design and implementation (Kongo et al 2010). Yet, the involvement of these people in establishing and contributing to such networks, and indeed any management intervention at a watershed scale, is key to their reliability and a prerequisite for longterm sustainability (Gomani et al 2010).…”